User blog:Squibstress/A Slant-Told Tale - Chapter 27
Title: A Slant-Told Tale Author: Squibstress Rating: MA Genre: Drama, romance Warning/s: Explicit sexual content; violence; abuse; alcoholism Published: 23/05/2017 Disclaimer: All characters, settings and other elements from the Harry Potter franchise belong to J. K. Rowling. Chapter Twenty-Seven 30 December 1963 There was a handwritten note just inside the front page of the document Albus had given Alastor: I have rearranged the exhibits into chronological order; you’ll find they make more sense that way. Do not rush to any judgements. —A INTERROGATION REPORT Case No.: 56C-234 Date of Report: 17 September 1956 Interrogator:Maurice Séverin Subject Name: Berquier, Petrus Henri Domicile: 460 Av. de la Bourdonnais, Paris Occupation: Conseillier de Magie, Conseil des Sorciers de l’État Magique Date of Birth: 1920-04-19 Marital Status: Married Spouse: Berquier, Celestine Josée (née Pascal) Children: Berquier, Henri Marc & Berquier, Roland Christophe Cause for Detention: Chevalier Berquier is summoned for questioning in the matter of the disappearance of Gerald Findlach Macnair, magical resident of Paris. Macnair was reported missing by his wife, Minerva Macnair, on 13 September 1956, 72 hours after she reports having last seen him. A search of the Macnair residence at 345 Rue des Cinq-Diamants, Paris on 15 September uncovered a pair of letters to Macnair bearing the signature of Ch Petrus Berquier (exhibits 1.1 and 1.2), dated two days and one day (respectively) prior to Macnair’s alleged disappearance. The tone of one of the letters was judged sufficiently threatening to warrant bringing Ch Berquier to the Palais de Justice Magique for questioning. Interrogation Subject states that he was not personally acquainted with Gerald Macnair, but that his elder son, Henri (aged 15 years), received regular instruction in the subject of Transfiguration from Mme Macnair at her home between approximately September 1955 and September 1956. When asked why the lessons were discontinued, subject replies that such matters are under the direction of his wife, Celestine, and that the interrogator “must ask her if he wishes to know her reasons.” Subject denies having met or corresponded with Gerald Macnair until he received a letter from Macnair on 8 September 1956 requesting a meeting. He acknowledges subsequently writing and sending the letters (exhibits 1.1 and 1.2) that were found at the Macnair residence. He denies any further correspondence with Macnair. Subject reports that the topic of Macnair’s letters to him was “a matter of personal concern” between them. He declines to elaborate further and declines to produce the letter. When asked about the requested meeting referred to in the first letter from himself to Macnair (confirmed by subject as exhibit 1.1), subject replies that he declined it. Subject further alleges that the “dire consequences” he referred to in his second letter to Macnair (confirmed by subject as exhibit 1.2) consisted solely of legal action and implied no threat to Macnair’s physical or magical safety. Subject denies any other contact with Macnair after sending the second letter on or about 9 September 1956. When asked if he found it strange that Macnair never contacted him again, subject responds that he is “not in the habit of trying to predict the behaviour of madmen.” Subject denies any knowledge of Macnair’s fate or current whereabouts. Subject was released with instructions not to leave the country without permission of the Maréchaussée. INTERROGATION REPORT Case No.: 56C-234 Date of Report: 19 September 1956 Interrogator:Maurice Séverin Subject Name: Berquier, Petrus Henri Domicile: 460 Av. de la Bourdonnais, Paris Occupation: Conseillier de Magie, Conseil des Sorciers de l’État Magique Date of Birth: 1920-04-19 Marital Status: Married Spouse: Berquier, Celestine Josée (née Pascal) Children: Berquier, Henri Marc & Berquier, Roland Christophe Cause for Detention: Chevalier Berquier is summoned for questioning in the matter of the disappearance of Gerald Findlach Macnair, magical resident of Paris. Evidence acquired (exhibits 2.1 and 2.2) in a search of the Berquier residence at 460 Av. de la Bourdonnais, Paris conducted on 17 September 1956 suggest that a hostile relationship arose between subject and Gerald Macnair (listed as missing 13 September 1956) in the week prior to his disappearance. The close temporal relationship between these events is judged sufficient cause to detain subject for questioning. Interrogation Subject denies any knowledge of the whereabouts of Gerald Findlach Macnair. When asked if allegations made by Gerald Findlach Macnair in his second letter to the subject (see exhibit 2.2, dated 9 September 1956 and confirmed by subject as having been received by him on or about the same day) are accurate, subject replies that “there is no proof.” Subject reports that, to the best of his knowledge, Macnair never carried out any of the threats made in the same letter. When asked what he believes to be the reason Macnair did not follow through on these threats, subject responds that he “imagines it to be because the man has disappeared.” Subject denies any knowledge of what might have caused Gerald Macnair to disappear. When asked to elaborate on the “dire consequences” subject referred to in his reply (see exhibit 1.2) to Macnair’s second letter, subject describes them as: “exposure to public ridicule; close official scrutiny of any and all of Macnair’s business dealings; possible expulsion from the French magical community as an ‘undesirable’ element’,” and “other pressures as may be brought to bear by a man of some importance upon a man of none.” Subject denies any further contact with Gerald Macnair and denies any knowledge of Macnair’s whereabouts or fate. Subject declines to produce his wand for examination without an order of the Conseillier Judiciare. Subject was released with instructions not to leave the country without permission of the Maréchaussee. SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM 56-09-22 Ref. Case No.: 56C-234 Issued to: Berquier, Petrus Henri, 460 Av. de la Bourdonnais, Paris Date: 21 September 1956 By Augustin Babinaux, Conseillier Judiciare, on behalf of the Conseil des Sorciers de l’ État Magique TO THE PERSON SUMMONED: You are hereby commanded to make available the items designated and described below: Item: Wand No. 544367, registered to Berquier, Petrus Henri (2 Jan. 1940) Description: Elm & dragon heartstring; 12 ¾” length at the Palais de Justice Magique on or before 23 September 1956 to permit a registered agent of the Maréchaussée Magique to inspect and test it or them according to the procedures outlined in Section 543,5 of the Droit Administratif Magique. Signed: Augustin Babinaux EXHIBIT 2.1 Ref. Case No.:56C-234 8 September 1956 Petrus Berquier 460 Av. de la Bourdonnais Paris M Berquier, You do not know me, but I believe you are acquainted with my wife, Minerva Macnair. You and I have matters to discuss that pertain to us both. I will be at the Café Griffon on Tuesday at 4:00. It would be in your best interest to meet with me there. Gerald Macnair EXHIBIT 1.1 Ref. Case No.:56C-234 8 September 1956 Gerald Macnair 345 Rue des Cinq-Diamants Paris M Macnair, I cannot imagine what you and I could possibly find to discuss. Therefore, I must regretfully decline your invitation to meet. Do not attempt to contact me again. P. Berquier, Chevalier de l’Ordre d’Auberon EXHIBIT 2.2 Ref. Case No.:56C-234 9 September 1956 Petrus Berquier 460 Av. de la Bourdonnais Paris M Berquier, Perhaps we could discuss the fact that you’ve been fucking my wife. Or maybe you’d prefer me to discuss it with your wife. Or your colleagues in the Conseil. Or the newspapers. I think they’d be quite interested in the fact that a man being considered as France’s next Conseillier de Sécurité spends his Tuesday afternoons with a foreign whore, don’t you? G. Macnair EXHIBIT 1.2 Ref. Case No.:56C-234 9 September 1956 Gerald Macnair 345 Rue des Cinq-Diamants Paris M Macnair, If you have concerns about your wife’s fidelity, I suggest you take the matter up with her. Accept that our correspondence is at an end, as you shall receive no reply to any future attempt you might make to contact me, which I must strongly advise against. I further strongly advise you not to repeat your slander to anyone. If you do, you will suffer the direst consequences. Believe this. P. Berquier, Chevalier de l’Ordre d’Auberon Alastor’s tea sat cold and untouched on the table. He fished for a cigarette in his shirt pocket, and his hands trembled enough as he raised his wand that it took him several tries to light it. He inhaled the smoke deeply but barely registered its strange, smooth bitterness as he continued to stare at the parchment in front of him. He had expected something like this with regard to Berquier—some dirty dealings that overlapped with Macnair’s—and that Berquier would have wanted to keep his name out of. If you had asked Alastor for his theory before reading the report, he would have replied that he thought it likely Berquier had some shady side business in moneylending; it wasn’t entirely unusual for an aristocratic pure-blood to look for opportunities to increase his wealth without the shame of actually having to go to work for it. Macnair, Alastor would have guessed, had availed himself of Berquier’s fiduciary help and had neglected to pay back what he had borrowed. Which had led to the inevitable penalty. Alastor would have put even Galleons on whether or not Berquier actually knew what had happened to Gerald Macnair; most pure-blood “businessmen” with that kind of sideline preferred to keep their own hands clean of any violence; they left such unpleasantness to their hired thugs and asked no questions about it. But a few Alastor could name actually enjoyed getting down into the real work of their entrepreneurial endeavours. Before reading the report, Alastor wouldn’t have made any guesses as to which sort of businessman Chevalier Petrus Berquier was. That, at least, was clear enough now. Berquier was of the lily-white-hands persuasion. But the rest of it? Minerva and Berquier? He would never have believed it—still wasn’t sure he did believe it. Aside from the fact that he’d never have pegged Minerva as the type of woman to put horns her husband—not even when that husband was a berk like Gerald Macnair—Berquier was clearly a smug little prick who thought the sun shone out of his arse. Had she really taken up with him? Think, Alastor. By the time he was able to force his way through the shock of that discovery to focus on the real question at hand, his head was enveloped in a smoky, blue haze, and his cigarette had burnt nearly down to his fingertips. The heat of it snapped him out of his thoughts, and he flicked the butt angrily to the floor and crushed it underfoot. The important question, boyo, isn’t whether she was having it off with Berquier. It’s what, if anything, it had to do with Macnair’s disappearance. The report looked pretty damning for Berquier. Gerald Macnair had disappeared without a trace anyone had been able to find the same week he’d tried to blackmail an important, wealthy, and politically connected wizard. That wizard hadn’t taken the bait and had made some unspecified but serious-sounding threats of his own. But had he killed Macnair? It was still possible that Macnair had been killed by creditors who had nothing to do with Berquier. Or that he was still alive and in hiding, either from those creditors or from the chevalier. Alastor doubted either of those scenarios painted the true picture. If one of Macnair’s more tenacious creditors had found the man, there would have been a body, and it would have been more conspicuously dead. Petty terrorism was one of the key tools in moneylenders’ arsenals, after all. When people knew what happened to deadbeats, they did their damndest not to become one. Moreover, if it was Macnair’s creditors, why hadn’t they gone after Minerva? The usual progression of such cases, in Alastor’s experience, was to start the deadbeat off with a little hex, something painful, but not completely disabling. Various types of Burning Charms were popular, as was the Castrato Curse among the real hardcases. If that didn’t succeed in persuading the debtor to meet his financial responsibilities, a wizard in the moneylending business might then turn his attention to his wayward client’s loved ones. And Alastor knew from Malcolm that Macnair had done business with such people. A man whose wife or child bore the scars of a Fundocutem was generally well motivated to rob Peter to pay the Paul who had ordered it cast. A man who was dead could not be motivated to do much of anything. And even if Macnair had paid the ultimate penalty for defaulting on a debt, unless Minerva had subsequently found a way to pay it off, chances were she’d be just as dead as her feckless husband. The general failure to find a living Gerald Macnair suggested to Alastor that there was none to be found. He couldn’t swear to it, but he suspected Macnair wasn’t nearly smart enough to evade discovery for very long. All of which supported the conclusion to which the interrogation reports had pointed: Berquier had had Macnair killed to keep him from revealing his affair with Minerva and banjaxing his political ambitions. Alastor wanted—Gods, how he wanted!—to avoid the question that led to. But it was futile. He was an Auror to the bones, and the question could not be ignored; it pressed itself to the forefront of his mind, and there it simmered, making Alastor’s heart gallop and his palms sweat. Did she know anything about it? This time, when Alastor tried to light his cigarette, he couldn’t get the tip of his wand anywhere near it. ← Back to Chapter 26 On to Chapter 28→ Chapters of Slant-Told Tale, A